good morning. it is tuesday, january 17th, 2012. welcome to "cbs this morning" here in studio 57 at the cbs broadcast center. i'm scharly rose. we'll go live to italy for new developments in the rescue efforts and new pictures from inside that crippled cruise ship. >> and i'm gayle king. we'll ask newt gingrich about last night's debate. and when i see you at 8:00, we'll have csi's marg helgenberger and ralph fiennes is here as well. >> we'll take you inside the latest killing of an iranian nuclear scientist. plus muhammad ali turns 70 years

old. but first before we do, we'll take a look at the world's eye opener. your world in 90 seconds. >> we believe it has been a human error here. >> the captain will also appear in court. new black box recordings suggest he did abandon ship before all the passengers were off. the number of missing was doubled to 29. >> and now new fears of leaking fuel, an environmental disaster. >> mitt, we need you to release your income tax so the people of the country can see how you made your money. >> mitt romney under fire as the republican field tries to slow the front-runner. >> answer the question first. >> we have plenty of time. i'll get there. i'll do it in the order i want to. >> it would be nice if governor romney would take. >> you have a super pac ad that attacks me. it's probably the biggest hoax

since big foot. >> it's a great example of the insiders having conversation up here. >> we should have the right to put any names up here we want, sleepy, dopey, perry. there is relief in nome, alaska, now that a russian tanker has arrived. >> we've handled about 160 collisions. >> stay off the road or make sure you have four-we'll drive. >> it was out of a move. >> you're getting killed here. >> you probably have nice-sized feet. >> all of that. >> is that mrs. -- >> o -- talk about milking it. >> on "cbs this morning." >> oops. my bad. >> what did jesus say to tim tebow this weekend? captioning funded by cbs jesus says there's always next year. we begin this morning in italy

where 29 people are still missing from the cruise ship disaster including four of the crew, and rescuers are running out of time to find them alive. >> we have a live picture for you this morning of the costa concordia. there it is there. the there's also concern about the fuel onboard that ship and what happens if it leaks. allen pizzey is in italy this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the captain of the costa concordia was whisked into court this morning for a hearing that's expected to last about three hours. it will deal with charges that include multiple manslaughter and abandoning his ship. he faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted. underwater experts blew four holes in the hull of the ship to provide access for gathering points and areas that have not been reach and make it safer for divers working in the long

passageways. newly released infrared photos show how passengers had to make a parallel descent. walls have become floors in a jumble of debris. divers say it is disorienting to swim through paejs and rooms that are sideways. the search now is for bodies. there's little if any hope of finding anyone alive. among the missing are an american couple, jerry and barbara heil of minnesota. there's also fears of an ecological disaster. an antipollution barrier has been set up to contain any of the diesel fuel that could leak from the stricken ship. recordings of conversations seem to infer he had abandoned his ship well before all of the passenger and crew were evacuated. what are you doing, the coast guard asked?

are you abandoning the rescue? there are already bodies. at another point the captain is ordered to go back to his ship and apparently refuses, claiming he cannot get back aboard because of the angle. along with more amateur video of the chaos and confusion of the disaster, stories are emerging that it was the crew who took the decision to abandon ship because the captain would not act. the mounting body of evidence is going to make it very hard for the captain to escape any kind of conviction, it would seem. for his part, his lawyers say he is basically devastated at the loss of life but still maintains he did at least partially the right thing by turning the ship to back to where it is now. >> charlie rose back here in new york. how large is this risk that you spoke of? the ecological risk? >> reporter: it's real enough, charlie, that i thaev called a major dutch company that's expert at dealing with oil

slicks. as you can see over my shoulder, there's an orange barrier. that's been put up because they're very worried that if anything does come out, it's going to get on this coast. this island is a marine sanctuary. it's a pristine beautiful area, and anything coming out of that ship at all would be disastrous for this island and for the marine life around it. so they're very, very concerned because the damage to that ship is huge and, you know, right now it's calm. yesterday it was very stormy. the waves started to batter it. if it slips off the ledge into deep water, they're sr. worveryd about it. many republicans think saturday's south carolina primary is the last chance to stop mitt romney. he was clearly targeted at last night's debate, mostly over his business record. meantime the latest gallup poll shows him with a commanding lead over his political rivals. jan crawford covered last

night's debatd in myrtle beach and she joins us this morning. jan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. last night's debate was different than the ores. and there have been a lot. there are two reasons. one, there are just two candidates. number one, the others dropped out and two, time is wasting on these candidates if they're going to stop romney's pass for the nomination. if you add these things together you get a debate that's serious and intense. the four challengers took the stage with the same goal, to weaken mitt romney's support and build up their own. newt gingrich hit hard over negative ads. >> so i think it is an absurdity and it would be nice if governor romney would order hiss staff to take falsehoods off the air. >> reporter: romney answered back. >> if we're talking about super pac ads that are inaccurate, mr. speaker, you have a super pac ad

that attacks me -- now just hold on -- that attacks me. it's froebl biggest hoax since big foot. >> reporter: rick santorum set the tone early, taking on both romney and gingrich over reforming social security. >> i want to make a point about newt's and mitt's plans because they're not bold, in the skas of governor romney. first we have to get our fiscal house in order, balance this budget, and then create the opportunity. but the idea of doing that now is fiscal insanity. >> reporter: but santorum at times faded from the stage as gingrich started doing what he does best and what made him a front-runner for a time. he bashed president obama and made no apologies for saying things like poor kids should work in schools as janitors. >> can't you see this is viewed at a minimum as insulting to all americans but particularly to black americans? >> no, i don't see that.

>> reporter: with gingrich and santorum slugging it out to to be the romney alternative, governor rick perry had a good moment, a reminder why months ago many thought he could beat romney when he talked about getting america back to work. >> that's what i've done as the elected governor of the 13th largest economy in the world. >> reporter: but it was texas's ron paul who refused to stand down. >> there's one ad we used against governor santorum. i only had one problem. i couldn't get all the things in i wanted to say in one minute. >> reporter: now, there were no real losers, also no real winners, although gingrich did pick up some ground. they're really different from each other, and i think the moderators at fox and t"the wal street journal" did a great job of just drawing them out.

so yu saw their strengths up on stage but also maybe some of their flaws. erica. >> how did he fair in the end in handling that. >> well, he played it really safe last night. i mean that was part of his strat jichlt he didn't have any razzle dazzle. no fumbles. no turnovers either. let me keep this football analogy going for a while. he ran an defense. it worked for a while. gingrich picked up some ground and that's the danger of that kind of game plan. if you're not careful, some of the other guys can get back in the game. we've got another debate on thursday night. there's a lot of time between now and when people vote in south carolina. so if he keeps playing it safe, you know it could be some problems. >> jan crawford in south carolina this morning. thanks. former house speaker newt gingrich is also in myrtle beach, south carolina. good morning, mr. speaker. >> good morning, charlie. >> you heard jan crawford -- you

may have heard jan crawford say you did well in last night's debate. but also time is running out. what has to happen to prevent governor romney from doing so well in south carolina that he wraps it up? >> well, i think two things. i think last night helped with both of them. first, i think i have to prove that i'm a much better debater, much more capable of taking on barack obama and standing toe to toe with the president and getting across conservative values. and second, i have to convince the people who might like to vote for santorum or might like to vote for perry that, in fact, those are the wasted votes, and the only way they can get a conservative nominee is to vote for me on saturday. if we can do those two things, convince wavering voters i can be much better at defeating barack obama because i'm so much more effective in debating conservativism in a debate setting and convince conservative voters who right now might go to perry or

santorum that the only way to stop a moderate from winning is to vote for me is to vote for me. it's going to be a close run, but i think we can pull it off. >> but if you don't do that and romney wins, is it all other? >> it's certainly much holder. if he's down 25 or 30, we're still in a serious race. if he gets up to 40 or 45, you have to be realistic. i don't see any evidence of him doing that. i think last night weakened him a little bit and his refusal to release his income tax weakened him. >> even if he said he'll wait? >> wait a minute. why would you wait? last night he conceded in principle that he owe it to the puckly. strikes me. i always think -- i mentioned last night the i-75 corridor of hope to replace what barack

obama had called a corridor of shame of unemployment. very important in the myrtle beach area. and i've also talked about modernizing the port of charleston. very, very important to the economy in south carolina. >> two things have happened. number one, candidates have not been able to coalesce around a candidate and as fighting gets tougher they're saying we may be weakening our nominees so that barack obama may take advantage of that. even the conservatives, as you well know. >> actually i think that's pretty silly. barack obama is going to have a billion dollars, the power of the white house, and the advantage of the most support from theed my ya. whoever we nominate had better be able to stand there and win the debate on stage because they're not going to be able to raise the kind money that obama has. he'll be plenty tough, no matter who we nominate. this is the most important

election of my lifetime and defeating barack obama is vital for the future of our country. we need the best and toughest deba debater. >> the person who said that was jim demint from south carolina. >> i'm just saying obama is going toplenty tough. whoever we nominate had better be prepared to endure the campaign with obama, and that's, frankly, why, people generally agree i'm the best de-barrett we have. we need somebody who's a solid conservative and can stand toe to toe with obama. >> i want to give you an opportunity. you said it's better for black americans to seek a job than to seek food stamps and people stepped forward and said isn't that true for all americans zes prattly looking for jobs? that's what i they want. not just black americans. >> that is true for all americans, true for

asian-americans, latino-americans, white-americans and black-americans. the context was i would love to be invited by the naacp because the president has failed to pay attention to the tremendous amount of unemployment. we've had 43% of black unemployment. that's days aster. it sets up a social pattern where it's very hard for young people to go out and get a job. so i'm address here for south carolina. president describes an area between middle pitch and i 95 as a corridor of shame. after three years he's done nothing. that's why i-73 is so important. we need to turn it into a corridor of hope. >> thanks, mr. speaker. a sheriff knows better than anyone what can happen if you barack the law.

this morning the sheriff of san francisco is accused of assaulting his wife and some people think he got special treatment as we hear from john blackstone. >> reporter: he was all smiles on january 8 as whiz his wife eliana when he was sworn in as san francisco's new sheriff. >> this is one of the happiest days of my life. >> reporter: less than a week later he was under a spots light of a far grimmer nature. >> these charges are very unfounded. >> reporter: mick a remy is charged with battering his wife who was once a soap opera star. it was here at mika remy's home that he grabbed her arm so violently, he bruised her upper arm. she showed her arm to a neighbor and they videotaped it and reported to the police. >> reporter: the sheriff has been quoted as saying this is a

prooisht family matter, an attitude that has infuriated victims for domestic violence. >> i believe he should step aside right now until the investigation is completed. >> reporter: the idea, being able to explain away or dismiss away allegations himself by simply saying it's a private matter calls into question the entire integrity of the judicial and investy ga torrey system. >> reporter: this is not an isolated case. last year charges were dropped against former new york mayor steven gold smith after his wife threatened to press charges. steven blum guard also. in mirkarimi's case, the investigation intensified only after it was liking to a newspaper columnist.

>> it's encouraging to see. paem can make cases against themselves go away because atheir in charge of power. >> we will fight these things and i'm confident in the end we will succeed. >> reporter: it's clear what he sees as victory there will be seen by critics as industrial injustice.

>> announcer: this national weather report is sponsored by farmers insurance. we are insurance. we are farmers. it may seem funny watching from home but the candidates are not laughing at stephen colbert and the super pac. hurts him where it hurts in the wallet. >> and if you're using headphones today, watch out. we'll show you why they're being blamed for a serious rash of injuries as we check the

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>> announcer: this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored e sargento cheese. taste the real difference. an official presidential message from president barack obama. dear betty, you look so fantastic and full of energy, i can't believe you're 90 years old. in fact, i don't believe it. that's why i'm writing to ask if you will be willing to produce a copy of your long-form birth certificate. thanks an happy birthday, no matter how old you are. time now to show you some of this morning's headlines around

the globe. fuel starts flowing from tankers to nome. they had to break through miles of ice to get there. cold weather stopped a delivery in november. we find u.s. launches national wa war on alzheimer's. experts meeting today in washington to work on a new strategy. "the baltimore sun" reports on aion verts study of pedestrians wearing headphones. it found three times as many were hurt or killed by cars anned trains last year compared to 2005. and from "l.a. times," wikipedia is planning to shut down tomorrow to draw attention to a bill making it harpder to steal online content. wikipedia and other websites claim the law would lead to censorship. finally lancaster, california, is into tweeting, chirping, actually in a big way. they played calming bird calls over big speakers.

they say crime rates are falling as they listen to the birds and do not go

everyone knows this year's election is about bringing jobs back to the country. the question is how do we do it. >> steven jobs and what he innovated and people like him, we need to be giving them the insenn tirchs being on shore doing that and not driving them off. >> you don't want to drive them off. you want to bring them in. welcome back to "cbs this morning." this morning the republican presidential field isn't laughing about stephen colbert as we hear from national correspondent dean reynolds.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. well, before we say that a comedian yacht could have no serious impact on a presidential campaign, let us remember that six days after a poll came out showing stephen colbert slieltly ahead of jon huntsman, jon huntsman quit the race. so far colbert's effort is not displaying what you would call a light touch. this is from the americans for a better tomorrow tomorrow super pac, which colbert is using to mock super pacs in general. >> if mitt romney really believes -- >> corporations are people, my friend. >> reporter: then mitt romney is a serial killer. he's mitt the ripper. what's striking about the ad is how it resembles the ones that have been flooding the airwaves, which attack romney on the one hand --

>> for tens of thousands of americans, the suffering began when mitt romney came to town. >> reporter: -- and especially newt gingrich on the other. >> newt has a ton of baggage. >> reporter: gingrich and romney have insisted they have no control over these nominally nonaffiliated groups and say the ads should be removed if they're inaccura inaccurate. so, too, in his way does colbert. >> so is mitt romney a serial killer? i don't know. but that question's out there now. >> reporter: colbert may have an obstacle to his write-in campaign here like the fact that south carolina doesn't recognize write-in campaigns, but so what. >> they said you can't go to the moon. they said you can't put cheese inside the pizza crust. nasa did it. they had to because the cheese kept floating off into outer space. >> reporter: there was a question about corporations. >> are corporations people are

only people people? and while you discuss that, i'm going be the good boy and eat my vegetables. >> reporter: colbert insists his effort is less than a campaign and more like an expedition without a destination. >> you know, i'm exploring right now. i'm a one-man lewis & clark and i'm looking for my sack ja wee ya. >> reporter: and what colbert has found is another way to inject himself into the race. this is a new ad that went out last night. >> thankfully there is one name on the ballot that stands for true american namety, herman cain. america for a better tomorrow tomorrow believes that a vote for herman cain is a vote for america. he's not a commercial politician. he's a washington outsider. he's not even running for president. send them a message. on january 21st, vote herman

cain. >> now, that may, just may cause a little confusion here because herman cain while he quit the race in november still on the ballot in south carolina. >> so dean, is stephen colbert having fun or does he have a message that he wants to have some impact? >> reporter: well, he clearly is mocking the whole super pac thing. whether or not the people of south carolina understand the distinction that is drawn between pacs and super pacs, i think, remains to be seen. but clearly it came up in the debate last night. and whether these guys are playing fair and whether this whole citizens united case, which allowed super pacs and unlimited, unregulated money to get into campaigns is a good idea. that is a debate that is worth having and stephen colbert is having it. >> dean, thank you very much. good to see you. and the point is also if, in fact, you're part of the conversation, then you're having impact. a series of bold attacks in iran

have raised eyebrows around the world. john miller has been investigating of iran's nuclear scientist. he'll tell you how a secret mission like this is carried out. coming up tomorrow, liam knee senn is here with us in studio 57. you're watching "cbs this morning." [ virginia ] i do have a healthy diet, but there are foods that i had no idea had so much acid in them. my dentist said that the acid in fruit, or fruit juice or fruit teas softens the enamel so that then it can potentially erode. once that enamel is gone, it's gone. my dentist recommended that i use pronamel to help harden that enamel so that it's not brushed away. pronamel protects your teeth from the effects of acid erosion. i don't have to cut out the things that i love in my diet. i can have the best of both worlds with pronamel.

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that documented evidence connecting the c.i. and israel to last world series's killing of a scientist in tehran. >> the brazen daytime bombing seemed like something out of an action movie. john talks about what a plot like that happens. >> reporter: one consideration in using sabotage or assassination is deniability. last week marked the fourth attack against a scientist working for iran's nuclear program.

he was killed when a bomb was attached to his car by a passing motorcycle. iran quickly accused the u.s., great britain, and israel of being behind the attacks, but all three have issued denials. >> i've seen the accusations about possibly the americans or brits or israelis involved of this. top of the pile. >> reporter: for any of them, it's a daring adventure. phil muscular dystrophy was with the cia and the fbi. >> you can't do this every day, so you'd better be careful about what operations you conduct and taking out people significant in the program. >> reporter: and what kind of work goes into preparing for an operation like this? >> you've about got to get pattern of life on him, see how he moves, see where he's most accessible in a public place so you can get in and out quickly without being seen on cameras, for example, so i expect work

has been going on for this for a long time. >> reporter: whether it was the tracking and killing of the terrorist responsible for the massacre of their athletes at the 1972 munich olympics of the assassination of a man who ran a string of bldy terrorist operations against israel and united states in lebanon. when this senior hamas official was killed in his hotel room in united emirates, they were caught on hotel security cameras and left a money trail that was quickly traced. but the work in iran has been in the street, which gives the spies an edge. >> here you're operating in an open urban environment, you don't have to check in, presumably you're under false documents, no finger prints, faces, phone cards, so my mind this would be much harder to track. >> reporter: targeting the

attack may be only one el management. facilities have been taken over by a computer virus, disrupting operations, a series of mysterious explosions at missile facilities and pipelines have caused damage. iran is under pressure, but the killing of the scientist could backfire. >> what you have in the case of the assassinations of nuclear scientists is the potential that the regime can use those incidents as a galvanizing event, a propaganda event to rally the flag of nuclear nationalism and to defend not only the nuclear program itself, which is popular in iran, but also the regime and its survival. >> reporter: if israel is behind the assassinations, denieblt is par for the course, but a former agent told us the iranian scientist should have known this was in the cards.

>> he has to have under, should anyone in involved in the nuclear iranian program that they are part of an attempt to create a weapon of mass destruction for a country that has openly threatened to destroy us, and we have every reason to not regret any loss of life or other act of sabotage that in any way sets back an iranian program. >> you've been in troom, listened to these conversations when you were with the fbi and director of national intelligence. the presums is israel is doing this covert action. the question is who's helping and especially whether the u stace is helping them. >> well, that's an interesting question, and in the hall mirrors it is hard to tell and that is on purpose. i suspect if israel was to rub an operation like this, they

could get help on the ground from various groups. iran has many ethnicities, groups. they could have help on the inside or from another foreign service. >> and the goal is to use covert action so you do not have to use a military strike. >> that would be one goal. but again, in the hall of mirrors, an operation like this with strike after strike after strike on a small scale could be one to elicit a military response from iran, which could then ratchet things up without israel or the united states being the one who started it. >> and how big a risk is that that iran will retaliate so the united states will have to retall yacht? >> i think on this level, iran has been busy on retaliating against its own. you had the plot to kill the saudi arabia representative. you have a venezuelan diplomat

dispelled laugh week charged with meeting with cyber criminals to attack iran from the united states. the question is when do we leave the covert action world and go into something military which ratchets it up. the oil sanctions, talking the crew can make a big difference in a life-or-death situation, so why don't cruise ship workers get better

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anded the doctor told us not to wake him because he might end up with a heart attacks, so i don't. i just get up and move. that's the hard part. you have to sort of -- >> we haven't seen much of muhammad ali since that great interview 16 years ago with ed bradley. he turned 70 today. he made a rare appearance over the weekend in his home town of louisville, kentucky, to celebrate his birthday. >> i know you have actually seen him a number of times. has some great stories. >> what's amazing about him is nelson mandela came to new york in one of his last visits if not his last visit and ali was there. to see these two men, these two amazing men of dignity there, people of great fame, they're all trying to snap pictures as if they were part of the

paparazzi. ali, even then, slower than he had been suffering with alzheimer's, maintained that great sense of dignity. you see these pictures, all that parkinson's has done to him has not done away with the dignity of who he was. >> so important to remember that and to point that out. i'm sure some who are living with parkinson owes would live the same way. the doctor will talk with us in the latest advances and the fight against parkinson is. stay with us for that and much more. you're watching "cbs this morning." >> announcer: cbs health watch sponsored bier this ma care. [ ron orsini ] osteo bi-flex has been incredible for me,

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our own gayle king has a look at what's coming up in our next hour. gayle. >> thank you, charlie. here's a question. what do charlie rose and muhammad ali have in common? they both celebrated a milestone birthday. for muhammad ali, he's suffered with parkinson's for 40 years. and csi's marg helg enberger is

making a move. where is she going?

michelle obama, the first lady is appearing on a tv show. it's called i carly. this is a long rich tradition of presidents' wives, appearing on a television show, and thing we put together a little montage. take a look. >> reporter: 1983, nancy reagan played herself on "different strokes." 1976 bet j ford played herself on "the mary tyler moore show." 1969 pat nixon played the gore on "star track." we should say today is michelle obama's birthday. happy 48th birthday to first

lady. it is 8:00. welcome back to "cbs this morning." i'm gayle king that and i'm charlie rose with erica hill. in italy this morning 29 passengers and crew members from the costa concordia cruise ship are still missing. rescuers blasted holes in the hull to get access to areas where people might be. >> they say the evacuation was so chaotic, so we wanted to find out how crew members are trained for this. we have some of the answers to those questions. mark, we keep hearing consistently that the crew let a lot of people down that day. >> reporter: good morning, gayle. that's absolutely right. which is why, of course, there are now suddenly sweeping calls for safety reform in an industry where disasters on this scale are actually quite rare. but no single authority polices the world's cruise ships which critic says carry risk but sail past any accountability. >> mayday, mayday.

>> reporter: captain jerry pan nal was running his ship aground. but this was an emergency training for senior officers on cruise ships. >> we want them to react in training as they would in real life. >> reporter: all the world's 2156 registered cruise ships are supposed to follow a minimum international safety standard, but only one of them is registered in the u.s. where those standards are higher. to save money, cruise lines often register ships in foreign countries where the standards may not be as strictly enforced. on any cruise ship, only the captain may give an order to abandon ship. once he does, every crew member has a defined role in its evacuations but like the passengers crew memberers often come from different countries and speak different languages. >> most vessels operate internationally on an english

basis, so in some cases english maybe a second language to these people and so they're communicating in a crisis, mind you, in a secondary language. that's why the predetermine d procedures are so important. >> reporter: its jurisdiction is italian. disaster struck three hours into the cruise before. mega ships like the costa concordia are floating cities and critics say an overhaul of safety regulations is overdue. >> i think this is a painful reminder -- it happens to be a 100 anniversary of the titan it. cruise ships are vulnerable and there are safety concerns. >> reporter: that's a lot of new faces suddenly forced to save each other the if there's a call

to abandon ship. >> mark, you're in ft. lauderdale. i heard that's called the cruise capital of the states. can you tell us something about the training of this particular crew and especially the captain? >> reporter: well, this -- you're right. ft. lauderdale and miami, florida generally is the cruise ship capital of the world. junior officers and senior officers get a fair amount of trainings, often weeks of safety training. the lower crews of course get a lot less, the maids, the waitresses, all the folks that make it happen day to day. the whole safety picture, the training involved, what the accountability is for all that, that is what is under scrutiny and whether some serious reform needed when all the ships go sailing past what critics say is any sense of accountability and any sense that people have to be held to account when something goes wrong. >> mark strassmann in ft.

lauderdale, thanks. with the south carolina primary coming up, mitt romney seems to be pulling away from his gop rivals. the national gallup poll finds romney with a 23-point lead. so they took shots at romney during last night's debate as often happens with the front-runner. newt gingrich questioned him in his serious role in taking corporate takeovers. >> there was a pattern of some company, a handful of them, of leaving them with enormous debt and within a year or two or three of having them go broke. that is something he ought to answer. >> jan crawford covered the debate in myrtle beach. good morning, jan. >> good morning, charlie. >> the question is are they having an impact and if they are not, why not on the front-runner? >> reporter: sure. the attacks have had an atam on mitt romney. the fact is they've hit gingrich. the more he attacks, the faster he is falling. last night we saw the new good

gingrich. he's doing what he does best. he's talking about hitting obama, why republicans are better than democrats. voters responding to that. yes, these atalks are having an effect. they're hurting gingrich and seem to be helping romney, but it's not at that close. those national polls are somewhat misleading when you look to south carolina. the race is closer than that to south carolina. >> how close? >> reporter: well, right now it looks like romney has got a slight edge, charlie. but you've got a lot of time when they start. last night was a big night for newt gingrich. i we even got some time. there's another debate thursday night. what i thought was so interesting in the interview you did with gingrich earlier in the show is he was talking about, you know, romney might win. we have to stop them from winning big. so already you're seeing gingrich set the expectations. even if romney wins, so long as

he doesn't win big. >> charlie asked about these attacks on one another and whether they could weaken the eventual nominee. let's listen to what he has to say. >> barack obama is going to have a billion dollars, the advantage of the white house and support of the media. whoever we nominate had better be able to stand there and win the debate on stage because they're not going to be able to raise the kind money obama has. he'll be plenty tough, no matter who he nominates. >> so is the thinking right now that, in fact, these attacks could help prepare the feel for president obama? >> reporter: that's what other people are saying or trying to defend mitt romney. that's what i thaw all say when you see the guys going at it. think about hillary clinton and barack obama in the democratic primary. this process is set up this way and it works. yes, it's hurting right now. it's, you know, not that pleasant for romney to be going through, but gingrich is right. he's going be facing these attacks with barack obama and all the force of that me clean. better to get it out.

>> jan, i want to ask you something about the debate from last night as well. mitt romney made a statement. let's listen to exactly what he said. >> governor perry, since the islamics oriented party took over in turkey, the murder rate of women has increased 1400% there. press freedom has declined to the level of russia. the prime minister of turkey has embraced hamas and turkey has threatened military force against both israel and cyprus. given turkey's term, do you believe they still belong in nato? >> obviously when you have a country being ruled by what many would perceive to be islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that type of tirkt against their own citizens, then, yes, not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong in the nato, but it's time for the united states when we look at their foreign aid to go to

zero with it. >> is foreign policy having a part of -- is it part of the conversation of this debate? >> reporter: well, voters think he has no idea what he he's talking about when it comes to foreign policy and that goes back to the debates in early september. he wants to talk about jobs and what he's done in texas and he keeps getting questions on whether or not he knows a country is ruled by terrorists. that's why perry has gone just leak this in the

muhammad ali is turning 70 today. he's a great champion, we all know that. parkinson's disease. we'll take a look at that. we'll also tell you people who heat their homes with natural gas instead of heating oil will be better off this winter. rebecca jarvis has the answer. you're watching "cbs this morning." chili's lunch break combos are full of delicious choices, starting at just 6 bucks. choose from savory favorites or our new philly cheesesteak sandwich. layers of shaved steak and grilled peppers served with fries and a tasty soup or salad. chili's lunch break combos. you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it.

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has been shown to provide additional adhd symptom improvement. don't take if allergic to intuniv, its ingredients, or taking other medicines with guanfacine like tenex®. intuniv may cause serious side effects such as low blood pressure, low heart rate, fainting, and sleepiness. intuniv may affect the ability to drive or use machinery. other side effects include nausea, tiredness, trouble sleeping, stomach pain, and dizziness. tell the doctor about your child's medicines and medical conditions, including heart, liver, or kidney problems. [ mom ] adding intuniv helped eric. [ male announcer ] ask the doctor about once-daily nonstimulant intuniv.

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float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. in the 1970s muhammad ali was heavyweight champion and probably the world's most famous athlete. today, though, is his 70th birthday. he celebrated in his home town in louisville, kentucky. muhammad ali has battled parkinson's disease for nearly 40 years. and we want to talk with dr. jon lapook. good morning. >> good morning. this disease is a big deal. it's a chronic disease. it affects millions of

americans, 50 to 60,000 americans get the disease every year. the basic problem, charlie, is the lack of a substance, the chemical called dopamine. it's a neural transmitter. what it does is helps one nerve cell talk to another nerve cell within the body and with parkinson's that goes down. the symptoms -- there are four big ones. there are lots of others but there are four big ones. tremor, pill rolling with the hands. the other is a lack of movement, problems walking and even talking and you can see sort of the shuffling gait people have. the third is rigidity. on physical exam you can take somebody's arm and pull it like this and it goes like this. that's called cogwheeling. finally after a while you can have problems with balance. you can actually fall. >> is it unusual to live this long because it seems so encouraging when you see him. as charlie mentioned he's still very, very sharp. >> it's a chronic disease, so

people can live for decades with it. it is unusual. most people get the disease over the age of 50. so it's unusual to get it so early. homeowners are paying more for oil heat this winter. natural gas is much cheaper. we'll show you why. we'll also take a look at whether it's worth it to switch. you're watching "cbs this morning." >> announcer: this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by mercedes-benz. experience truly great engineering today at your authorized dealer. with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. for up to 16 hours of relief, try thermacare. to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. left behind by some mop. why you... nobody's taken a shine to me in a long time. phooey. i don't need anybody...but you! ♪ i believe in miracles

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the good news, it's been a mild winter so far in much of the country. the bad news, heating oil prices as many of you probably know are sky high, especially in the east where homeowners tend to rely on it. >> this is economics correspondent rebecca jarvis is with us here.

good morning, rebecca. >> good morning. >> i feel like you did this for me. i just paid my bill and i called the guy. pdo you think it's something we should think about? >> anyone heating their home with natural gas is paying substantially less. natural gas, the average price you're paying for this winter is $6781. home heating oil is almost $2,400. so we're talking almost four times the amount of the people who are using natural gas. like you said, there are definitely when it comes to natural gas, there are political and definitely economic reasons to consider that as well. >> no, but really when i got the bill i was stunned be i the number and i did call to say did you make a mistake and they said nope. i called other places to make sure i wasn't being cheated and i wasn't. >> you can make the switch. there is the reality that if you have heating oil and a lot of people in the northeast do.

you can make the switch, however, there's an up front cost to making that switch and it's in the thousands. not a couple hundred dollars. it's in the thousands. in order to make the switch it's going to take time for it to pay off. we're talking a couple of winters that and when you're pricing that out, we don't know what the cost is. >> we don't exactly know. but natural gas, however, the forecast is it's going do remain relatively low. >> why is there such a dramatic defrps between the price of gas and the price of oil? >> the sources are coming from two different locations. natural gas is a primarily local source. it's coming from the united states. whereas oil is coming from around the world. some of it is coming from here, but it is susceptible to, for example, the saber rattling we're hearing out of iran. we don't get oil from iran, however, iran does give toil the rest of the world and when they take that or potentially could take that oil out of the picture, that hurts and scares

the rest of the world economy and so all of a sudden that drives up prices. in europe, europe has closed down a number of refineries because their own economy has been struggling. as are result of taking that out of the pipeline, that's also drink up the cost. you have this double whammy. >> anything we can do other than walk around with a coat? >> wear a coat. i mean, listen, i'm not going to advocate for that. but if you do turn your thermostat down 1 degree, it ooh's 2% savings for every degree you turn down your thermostat. also if you turn your water heater down to 115 to 120, you're not going to feel much of a difference. and, lastly, if you do the shorter shower, okay, like half of the time in the shower that you would spend, you're going to save about 33%. so a lot of people might say, wow, i can't take half the time in the shower, but 33% cost savings is pretty significant. >> for those of us who love to sit in a big hot tub of water, you say what? >> i say enjoy it, gayle.

live a little. >> skplurj. >>

welcome back to "cbs this morning." do you recognize that theme song? marg helgenberger says i recognize the music. she began collecting fingerprints when the series began back in 2000. >> next week katharine willows

is terning in her badge and marg is here to tell us why. good morning. >> good morning, charlie, good morning, gayle. >> good morning. good morning. >> the question i have is one of two. this is one of the great franchises this television history. >> yes, yes. >> and high pay. >> and what? >> high pay. >> not a bad thing, marg. >> and you've had a remarkable run. what causes one to say now's the time to go? >> well, that's an excellent question, one i've been asked quite a bit lately, and i was starting to -- it's been an incredible run with an incredible group of people. the show still has -- does very well around the world, number one in the world. it's still a great quality. it was a very difficult decision. i just think -- i felt the need to kind of step back because i had been playing this character for 11 1/2 years to reassess and

regroup and i'm -- as scary as that is, i'm also very excited about the great wide open, the future and all the possibilities. >> i was wondering about it because your mom is in the green room. i love that you came with your mom, number one. when i was growing up they said it was always easier to get a job from a job. are you worried about or i'm open to all possibilities, whatever that is? >> i'm not worried so much about it. but i am more executed about all the possibilities than i am worried. i mean the fact that i did have such a great experience on csi, it will be hard. the bar is set pretty high. >> but you have a lot of interest as well. >> a lot of interests? >> interests, yeah, in things that you might want to do. >> yes, yes. career-wise as well as lifestyle in terms of having the time now. >> and supporting the causes you do so well in terms of supporting breast cancer and things like that. >> yes. >> the character went through a

very interesting evolution. tell me where it started and where you're ending it. >> the character was introduced in the initial episode csi, ex-stripper. it wasn't at all tawdry. there was nothing -- actually there was no scene filmed of flashbacks. some of the female producers thought about changing that backstory once we got picked up and put on the air. i said, no, no, no. this is a woman who -- it's that journey she took is quite different than people who go into law enforcement and i thought it formed the character and the backstory, so i'm glad i stood up for my stripperdom and -- yes. she's -- then that allowed her sexuality wasn't necessarily something she had to run away from. it certainly didn't inhibit her

job. >> what would you like to do, you know? after 12 seasons, what would you like to do? you're so identified with her. what are you thinking? >> because i'm so identified with her i perhaps would like to do something that's quite different. >> a stripper perhaps? listen, marg, that's very different. that's very different. >> ideally i'd like to do a play, perhaps here in new york city. a new play would be great but i'm very interested in a revival. i haven't been in a full production of a play for a gazillion years. but for a type of role, i think i'd like to play somebody who was just kind of an ordinary woman that's under extraordinary circumstances, you know, doesn't really have a whole lot of -- the glam factor is sort of dialed down a bit. >> as you look at all those optionings that might be there, whether it's theater, film, another character, before you do

that, look back. is there an episode, moment, something that happened over this really successful run that you'll always remember? >> wow. well, because it's so fresh in my memory, this last episode that i shot in which catherine -- i don't want to give too much away, actually -- when catherine has a chance to say good-bye to the team and shortly after that marg said good-bye to the crew and i got the nailed pounded into my last mark on where i stood last and that's my permanent mark. they're going to fasten something there on stage 24, universal studio, it was an emotional journey. and then the lead-up to it, the mark of the three episode mark was axed back as well as emotion emotional. although so many have had an impact on me, sorry. >> wi watched the last episode. we all know what happens or i

know what happens. will you watch the last episode? >> i will watch the last episode. whether i want to see it by myself or with a group of people, e-mail not exactly sure because i know there will be some tears. >> your mom will watch with you. i met her. she's very nice. she'll watch with you. >> yeah. >> thank you, marg. continued success on whatever you decide to do. >> thank you. >> a play in new york. i like that. you can see her final episodes torl and next wednesday at 10:00. that's, of course, at 9:00 central right here on cs. and one of charlie siem's fans says -- every time i see charlie, i think ow you. fans say nobody have i got a surprise for you!

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world's hottest violin virt oh sow. his name is charlie siem and while you may not yet know his music, you've likely seen his face as a model in "vogue" and other magazines. he gave his first interview to lee cowan. lee is with us in studio 57. good morning. >> good morning. charlie siem is gets as much attention for his good looks as well as his playing. if you thing he's performing in stuffy concert halls, thank again. even lady gaga has found this virtuoso simply irresitable. if you were to bump into charlie siem, say, in new york city, you ebel probably think he was just another pretty face. in part you're right. his modeling fo lineling portfo landed him in magazine shoots but the violin isn't just a prop. it's a passion.

♪ >> reporter: few can make a violin sing quite the way charlie can. >> you're always finding, i thinking you can work at it. there are always ways you can get better. that's what makes me keep playing every day is the fact that i'm not quite there, you know. there's always for me to be able to do. >> reporter: critics would argue he's done quite a lot already. at only 25 charlie's played some of the greatest concert halls of the world. his most recent cd hit number three on the classical charts in the uk. and like him, the instrument he plays on is a one of a kind "the begin arias made in 1735. >> you'd be horrified if you know how much it's insured for. >> how much is it insured for? >> well, this is insured for $10 million.

>> $10 million. >> yeah. >> the sound the two of them make together is priceless. ♪ >> reporter: born in london, the violin struck a chord in charlie at a very early age. >> i heard the violin when i was 3 years old, and i -- i heard it on the radio. and the sound of the instrument is just what inspired me. >> at 3 years old. >> 3 years old. that's the earliest childhood memory i have. >> reporter: unlike most kids his parents who weren't musically inclined at all never had to beg him to practice. instead, they had to beg him to stop. >> they'd say initially charlie's playing his violin, great. then when i took it to the next level, no, i want to play the violin, then they got worried. >> reporter: they insisted he get an education. he went to cambridge and honed

modeling on the side. then he played the violin with a very unique style of performing. >> the challenge now is freshening it up, making it not just a museum piece in a glass case, making it fun and relevant and fresh to an audience today. >> reporter: his modern presentation of 200-year-old music caught the eye of another fashion forward musician. lady gaga. charlie not only performed at a party in gaga's honor but he also shared the stage with the legendary rock band the who. >> they have a way of performing and such car riz ma and i think that's what first triggered my mind to instead of trying to form to the audience, take a little bit of that to take it to the cast of music to try to bring the performance a little

alive. >> reporter: despite all the attention, it's hardly gone to his head. he's learning to embrace his life on the road and says he wouldn't change a thing. >> you know, i can't imagine doing anything else, you know. as far as i'm concerned, my life is consumed with playing the violin and wrer the path takes me, whatever direction the journey is going in. i em going to just keep following it. >> reporter: a young virtuoso who has the world quite literally at his fingertips. now, charlie's next stop is japan and then south america and then he's hoping to announce some tour dates right here in the u.s. as well. >> what is it that makes him so good as a violinist? >> i think it's probably his passion. that's what he would say. and i think it's the sense that he can do more with the violin than perhaps sould people would think. he doesn't want it to be the stuff j instrument as you heard

him say. he wants it to be contemporary, the kind of strinment he can pull out anywhere and play. he's pulled it out at subway station, itune stores. he's as contemporary as you can possibly be but he still loves music compose 2d 00 years ago. >> and he looks gooey pizza, something good with a violin. >> you wouldn't want to touch a violin greasy fingers afterward. >> it's nice to have you in studio. lee cowan, thanks. he's a two-time oscar nominee who ee's played heroes and villains, but his greatest fear? sharks. you're watching "cbs this morning." the 2-4-6-8 value menu's

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the way my spirit dispossessed me, a tongue's motion may move through my lips. i will not do it lest i cease to honor my own truth and by my body's action teach my mind the most inherent basis. >> that is a mod tern take on shakespeare. it features vanessa redgrave, harold butler and ray fiennes who not only plays the title role but is the director. >> he was nominated for the most outstanding day buy but a british writer, director, or producer. go, ray fiennes. he's joined us in studio 57. good do see you. >> good to see you. >> we know how good you are in front of the camera. you decide you wanted to direct for the first time. were you nervous? >> of course i was. >> i would have said no. >> it was a shakespeare play that not that many people are

that familiar with. it's a tough piece, confrontational piece, they believed could work as a strong political thriller. i had played it about 11 years ago on stage and it became an obsession to make it into a film if we edited aggressively. >> suggesting it's a kind of shakespearean message for this time? >> i think it's always a piece that's relevant. it's got an economic unrest, unhappy population, conflict, crisis of leadership at the center of it. >> characters in conflict. >> people politicking and manipulating for positions of power, the eternal politics that will roll in and step in and kill and not. now everywhere in the world there's a lot of it. >> had you been thinking about directing for some time and you've been saying, you know, i want to do this? >> i had. i think, you know, you're known as one thing as an actor, and i think the moment you open the door and say i want to do

something else, it's -- people's response is interesting. i think for some actors, it's a natural transition. plenty of actors have made the transition. i think if you work on films you become curious, more than curious. >> working as an actor, you always thing about directing and seeing how the director evolved the film. >> well, i've been lucky enough to work with great directors. all extraordinary directors. it's amazing to be part of that process. and i suppose working for directors like that, catherine big low, it started to interest me. >> what lesson did you come away with learning everything from them? >> there's so much more to learn. i look at "coriolanus" and am proud of it but there's so many things i i'd like to fix.

>> like what? >> some of them are technical things, compositional things with the camera, but also i have some, i think -- it's hard to watch yourself. so i'm never -- in my own performance, i have so many things i'm uneasy about. >> which is probably always that way, especially when you direct yourself. that must be very difficult for yourself. >> that was very hard. the days i wasn't acting was kind of a relief. i love working. vanessa redgrave is extraordinary. >> and gerard butler. >> yes. and bryan cox play as political insider. >> directors i've talked to have often said the most important job for a director is casting, getting it right. >> the first person i knew i wanted was vanessa redgrave. she plays my mother. at the center of this piece, you have a mother/son drama which is essential. it's always moved me.

it with us the mother/son face-off. the politics are confrontational but it derives at a mother/son what i call the umbilical moment. no one can escape that. >> when did you know, ray fin , fienn fiennes, you wanted to be an actor? everybody a lot of people would pronounce it ralph. did you ever give any consideration to changing your name and when did you know this is what i want to do? >> the name thing came up often and it still does where people say hey, ralph. >> yeah it's quirky old tradition, rafe instefl of ralph.

steven spielberg said you should consider changing your name. i thought this is my name. i often have thought maybe i should have changed it. it would change the spelling. >> challenge the spelling. >> there it is. >> one last quick question about language. shakespeare, what's the challenge there? >> well, shakespeare is, i think, one of the greatest contemporary writer we still have. the understanding of whether they're in love, at war, fighting for positions of power, his knowledge of human sigh kol jit and heart is profound and continuously inspires us. in film, we have to cut a lot. >> cut is what i have to do. i have to cut him off. sorry. that does it for us. up next, your local news. see you tomorrow. thank you very much. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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